The two-day annual meeting was expected to draw more than 6,000 messengers to the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Md. The Southern Baptist Convention is made up of autonomous cooperating churches containing some 15.7 million members across the U.S.

Among the candidates expected to be nominated for president are Rev. Ronnie Floyd, pastor of Cross Church, which has campuses in northwest Arkansas; and Rev. Dennis Kim, pastor of a Korean church in Silver Springs, Md., according to the Associated Press.

As the nominations were made, a third pastor's name was added: Rev. Jared Moore, pastor of New Salem Baptist Church in Hustonville, Ky.

Luter, senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, was elected in 2012.